State Treasurer Andy Dillon plans to resign Nov. 1. There have been several issues with his 2010 campaign for governor.

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Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau

LANSING — State election officials are investigating the way Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon’s gubernatorial campaign handled a $130,000 loan it received in 2010, according to state records.

The issue of the way the loan was handled faces review by state officials as a possible violation of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act. It is one of several campaign-finance reporting problems that remain outstanding after Dillon’s campaign officials filed new and amended reports in September that were supposed to clear up discrepancies of more than $100,000.

Since those amended reports were filed Sept. 13, election officials with the Secretary of State’s Office have sent the campaign six notices identifying problems with the reports, which prevents the dormant campaign account from being closed.

At most, the committee could face a fine over the loan issue, Fred Woodhams, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office, said Saturday.

Dillon, who unsuccessfully sought the 2010 Democratic nomination for governor, announced Friday that he will step down as treasurer Nov. 1.

He attributed his decision to news media attention surrounding his acrimonious divorce. But the persistent campaign-finance reporting problems have been an embarrassment to a state official responsible for handling billions of dollars in public funds, and to the administration of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.

On Saturday, Dillon issued a statement through his volunteer spokeswoman, Lansing public relations consultant Kelly Rossman-McKinney, saying the campaign-finance issues played no role in his resignation plans.

“I am disappointed it’s not closed out, but the reality is, there are no allegations of wrongdoing, nor have there been any, and closing them out is the responsibility of the treasurer of the campaign, not the candidate,” Dillon said. “For theses reasons, it played no part in my decision.”

Rossman-McKinney added: “Further review is a far cry from wrongdoing.”

One of the amended reports said the campaign received a $130,000 loan from the Bank of Birmingham on July 23, 2010, and on the same day, made a $130,000 payment to an advertising firm, AKPD Media and Message of Chicago.

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But the way the transactions were reported is not the way campaign officials told the Secretary of State that the deal was handled, according to state records.

“In conversations with the committee, the committee disclosed that the bank loan ... was not deposited into the committee’s checking account but rather was wired directly to AKPD Media,” election officials said in an “error/omission notice” dated Sept. 26.

The Michigan Campaign Finance Act requires that all campaign receipts, including loans, be deposited into the campaign fund before being paid out, the notice said.

“Please be advised that this matter will be referred for further review.”

Michael Maher, Dillon’s campaign treasurer, would not comment on the loan issue specifically Saturday, but said he is working with state officials on all the outstanding issues and expects them to be resolved “in short order.”

In addition to the way the loan was handled, state officials have flagged several other problems with the amended reports. They include missing details related to expenditures, missing signatures, an incorrect contributions total and a contribution that may have exceeded legal donation limits.

Woodhams said the Dillon campaign has until Friday to respond to the concerns about the bank loan reporting and other issues.

With respect to the loan issue, “depending on the response, the matter would be referred within the Bureau of Elections to review whether there was a campaign-finance violation and for conciliation,” Woodhams said.